PDEA agent injured in gun attack

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) – 6 denounced the attack against one of its personnel who was wounded in a shooting incident at Purok Cabugwason, Barangay Cabug here Tuesday.

In a statement, PDEA-6 said it does not discount the possibility that the attack against Jayson Yayola, 36, of Pulupandan, Negros Occidental may have been job-related, especially with the intensified campaign against drug personalities here and in other parts of Negros Occidental.

According to Police Major Ritchie Gohee, head of Police Station 9, two unidentified persons waited for Yayola to pass by the area before shooting him.

Yayola was riding his motorcycle when one of the perpetrators from a gray Toyota Corolla allegedly shot him and stole his sling bag containing his cellular phone.

The victim suffered three gunshot wounds in his body and is now stable in a hospital here.

Police recovered from the scene three bullets of .45 caliber ammunitions.

Yayola is a member of the PDEA-Special Enforcement Team (SET) based here.

Gohee said Yayola’s team was supposed to conduct an operation earlier that day but it was cancelled.

Gohee said they are also looking into the victim’s work as possible motive in the incident, though the victim’s wife said that he had no threats against him.

Gohee said they will check if there were closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the area that captured the incident for the possible identification of the suspects.

Meanwhile, PDEA agents are urged to remain strong and focused on their responsibilities as frontliners in the campaign to rid the communities from illegal drugs.